After the Confederation makes a shocking discovery on an alien world, a nefarious band of opportunists from the highest echelons of power plot to steal the vast riches for themselves. Along with the ability to crush any resistance, these moguls possess spacecraft, unlimited resources, and a deadly arsenal of cutting-edge weapons.The only one without a price tag is the ConfAfter the Confederation makes a shocking discovery on an alien world, a nefarious band of opportunists from the highest echelons of power plot to steal the vast riches for themselves. Along with the ability to crush any resistance, these moguls possess spacecraft, unlimited resources, and a deadly arsenal of cutting-edge weapons.The only one without a price tag is the Confederation president. Now she is sending Gunnery Sergeant Bass, the men of third platoon, and a single special agent to expose the shadowy figures behind the corruption. And so, on an obscure planet, home to unimaginable treasure and an unsettling species, the toughest fighters in Human Space confront their fiercest battle. For there will be no losers in this war, only the triumphant, the dead, and the vanished . . ....more

audio

Published
January 1st 2003
by Random House, Inc.
(first published January 8th 2000)

Community Reviews

This book in the Starfist series was not exactly the strongest card in the deck. Actually I was somewhat disappointed. The title, as well as the book blurb, led me to believe that this would be some high-tech action but actually it’s quite the opposite.

The bad guys do not really have any cutting edge weapons. The planet the marines go to are inhabited buy a primitive alien presence and, thanks to a directive not to expose modern technology to the aliens, the marines are given minimal weaponry anThis book in the Starfist series was not exactly the strongest card in the deck. Actually I was somewhat disappointed. The title, as well as the book blurb, led me to believe that this would be some high-tech action but actually it’s quite the opposite.

The bad guys do not really have any cutting edge weapons. The planet the marines go to are inhabited buy a primitive alien presence and, thanks to a directive not to expose modern technology to the aliens, the marines are given minimal weaponry and technical support. Not exactly what I expected.

As a matter of fact, the biggest obstacle for the marines is probably the asshole scientist that commands the research station in orbit around the planet. The entire book is more of a police intervention against a bunch of smugglers than anything else.

The fact that the authors have ventured into languages they do not seem to understand (not the first time) doesn’t help. For instance a space ship called Marquis de Rien which roughly translates into Marquis Nothing? Maybe it was meant to be funny but I didn’t really get the fun part in that case.

Okay, it wasn’t a really really bad book and I did enjoy reading it but it was really not up to the standard of the other books in the series that I’ve read so far....more

I read Technokill by David Sherman. Sherman was writing to entertain his readers. I know this because he tells a story that he came up. The theme of the book is: Just because politicians have power, does not mean they can get away with crimes they organize. The villain is a politician that organizes a smuggling operation of valuable gems on a planet inhabited by a bird-man race with pre-stone age technology. The story is told in narrative because of the chronological order of events that happe I read Technokill by David Sherman. Sherman was writing to entertain his readers. I know this because he tells a story that he came up. The theme of the book is: Just because politicians have power, does not mean they can get away with crimes they organize. The villain is a politician that organizes a smuggling operation of valuable gems on a planet inhabited by a bird-man race with pre-stone age technology. The story is told in narrative because of the chronological order of events that happen in the book. The story is very descriptive on the conflict scenes and happen in order or catch up to the others. In my opinion the book is a great read. I liked how descriptive it is and the sci-fi theme. I would have had more conflicts in the book, but I expect nothing less quality of a story by Sherman form his Star-Fist Series....more

Kind of strange story. Not too sure why the Marines were called in to stop some smugglers that the Navy could have handled by destroying their starship in the first place. Little far-fetched having a planet with an intelligent species of birds. Really had to dig to find something they had that was valuable to smugglers.